Sunday, December 31, 2006

Christmas

We had wonderful Christmas! Christmas Eve, we spent time with both families and had a great day! We woke up at our house Christmas morning and watched Bailey play with the toys that Santa got him. It was very cute. Then we went to Jay's parent's house and celebrated Jay's birthday and Christmas. We then went to my Grandmother's house and celebrated.

That evening we left Bailey with my mother because we had to get up very early the next morning. Me, Jay, my sister, Jill and her husband, Jarod all went to Vegas. We had a great time, but it was very hard to leave Bailey. The trip was fun and pretty uneventful until the last day. On Friday, I find out that Bailey has the croup and was put on breathing treatments. As you can imagine, on hearing this news I was VERY ready to get home to my baby! That afternoon we head to the airport for our flight home. Everything is going smoothly, we get there plenty early, get our tickets, get through security with no problem and head to find our gate. Only to discover our flight has been cancelled due to the tornados at DFW airport! So, we go back to the ticket line (which by this point has increased in size and there are only 2 attendants working). Get on the standby list for the 8 o'clock flight and get reservations for the 11 0'clock red eye, on a different airline just in case. We go back through security, ride the tram to our new gate only to discover that this flight has also been cancelled. So, we RUN back to the ticket line to get our tickets for the 11 o'clock flight that we had reserved earlier. The ticket line was unbelieveable. We waited for over 1 1/2 hours and maybe moved 20 feet. People were being told the earliest they could fly out was Sunday! We weren't worried because we had reservations...however, we start hearing a rumor that our red eye was in the process of being cancelled! Luckily, it did take off. It was 12:30 vegas time, but at least we left! We got to Weatherford to get Bailey at 6:00 am Saturday morning! Needless to say, it was a very long journey home!

Bailey is doing much better and is tolerating the breating treatments like a champ. He has a bottom tooth and can pull himself to a sitting position from laying down! He is not crawling yet, but I keep thinking any day he will. We are having so much fun! We leave for our ski trip on Thursay. It is a 12 hour drive, but we are going in a motor home, so I think it will be nice. Bailey got a portable dvd system for Christmas, so we will be taking it!

Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's!

Monday, December 11, 2006

7 Months Old


I can't believe it, Bailey is 7 months old toay! I know I have said it a million times, but, TIME FLIES! He is doing so many new things! Here is a list:
  • the beginings of a tooth is visible (barely)
  • he can eat small pieces of table food
  • he is sitting up unassisted and barely ever falls over
  • he is starting to try and pull up
  • he gets up on his hand and knees and rocks back and forth...crawling is just around the corner

We had family pictures taken over then weekend and they went great! As you can see from the above picture, Bailey is so easy to please and was such a ham for the camera! I will upload more later, but these are Chrsitmas gifts, so I don't want anyone to see the picture they are getting.

Our computer is on the fritz...again! It is constantly freezing up on me! Getting the hard drive repaced did not fix all of the problems, apparantly. Luckily, my dad is getting us a new one for Christmas. It is a much needed and much appreciated gift!

Hope everyone is enjoying the days leading up to Christmas. I know we are. We just love going to the malls on the weekends and push Bailey around in his stroller. It is one of his favorite things to do and it is so fun to watch him enjoy himself so much!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Exciting News!




As many of you know, my sister-in-law is expecting another baby in April. Well,...it's a GIRL!! We can't wait for our niece to arrive! We would have been thrilled with another boy (we are partial to boys:) ), but are SO EXCITED to welcome a little girl and I can tell that Bailey is excited to have another cousin. It is great having the boys grow up together and a little girl will add a great dynamic. It will be fun to see the difference between the boys and a little girl. I wonder if she will be roudy like the boys or a little miss priss. I can't wait to find out!
Also, wanted to let everyone know that we had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Bailey enjoyed himself and the mashed potatoes. He got to play with his second cousin, Nora. They played really well together. She is 9 months old, so they are very close in age.
We took Bailey to see Santa at the Galleria. At first he liked him, he was playing with his beard and everything. Then, all of the sudden, he started crying. It was cute. Bailey loved being at the mall. He is such a people watcher. He even reached out and tried to grab a kid that was walking by! What a cutie!

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Helpful Hint

As a single income family, I am always looking for ways to save money...using cupons, buying in bulk, etc. One of the luxery's I afford myself is having all of Jay's work clothes washed at the dry cleaners. Spending my days ironing his dress shirts is not my idea of fun. Trust me, it is an expense worth every penny! However, with sweater weather upon us, I am again looking to save some money. All of my sweaters are dry clean only, as are Jay's. So, I decided to look for another option so that I can continue my luxery of not ironing Jay's clothes. I have recently invested in Dryel...the dry clean at home product. I wanted to let y'all know how I feel it works (for those of you who may be interested in saving some money).

I would vote "no" on this product. One of the inserts said you could throw other items into your dryer while your dryel bag is in there. Another insert said not to put anything else in the dryer with it. You are suppose to be able to put up to 4 items into the bag each time. So, I put in a sweater, a shirt and a cardigan...all in the brown color family. Well, the sweater came out fine, the shirt came out very wrinkled and the cardigan had dye from one of the other items on it...it was ruined! Maybe someone has had different luck with Dryel. If so, let me know. Right now I am scared to try it again. As far as saving money goes; after I pay to replace my expensive cardigan, I could have over 20 garments dry cleaned professionally. ...Just my luck, Banana Republic no longer makes this cardigan. So, if anyone has the cream colored 3/4 sleeve one (...Jill) and would like to give it to me:).....

Friday, November 03, 2006

Rolly Polly


At what age should parents stop sending out naked pictures of their children? Is there a cut-off age? I have no clue; therefore, I have included the cutest naked picture of Bailey (who is 6 months now). When we get him out of the bath, we swaddle him in one of his huge towels (Neiman's and Pottery Barn sell the best baby towels) and he loves to roll around on the floor in his towel and attempt to free himself. He laughs and squeels and just loves it! Well, I finally got a picture and just HAD to share. Isn't he cute?


Bailey has started saying "Mama" (sounds more like Baba). Of course he has no clue what he is saying, but it still makes my day every time he does it....although, he usually says it when I am trying to strap him in his car seat. He struggles to free himself, looks at me with very sad eyes and whines "Mama". He has also started scooting himself around on the floor. He no longer stays on his blanket full of toys. He always manages to scoot his little self off the blanket and plays wherever he ends up. He usually scoots backwards and I have been told that is the first step towards crawling! Noooo! I am NOT ready for that! Hopefully we still have a couple of months before we have to worry about that.

When Bailey was younger he use to enjoy hearing the sound of the vaccuum running. Not any more! He has recently become petrified of the vaccuum. This has proven to be quite the inconvenience. The other day I was so desperate to vaccuum, I actually took him over to our neighboor's house so she could watch him and I could vaccuum. We are slowly working on it though. I have found that if I smile at him the entire time I am vaccuuming he will give me this shaky smile back (as if to say "I don't know about this, Mom").

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Our Little Pumpkin




Well, Bailey had his first Halloween and he was a pumpkin. We did not take him trick-or-treating, but did dress him up and passed out candy. We got a lot of oohs and aahs. As expected :)

Bailey will be six months in a few days. He is eating baby food like a champ! The desert ones are his favorite! He also likes rice cereal mixed with fruit. He is working hard on sitting up. When he is propped up in front of his boppy he can sit up and play for about 5 minutes.

I think Bailey is teething. Of course, I have a lack of experience in this area, but I have been reading my parenting book and he seems to fit the symptoms. He is a very happy baby...as many of you know first hand. However, the past two days he has just laid around whining (and he IS NOT a whiner). He has had little interest in playing. He just wants to whimper. It is very sad. I have been trying many tricks (teething tablets, biting on a frozen washcloth, drinking ice water). These have helped some, but if anyone has any more suggestions, I am all ears.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Pumpkin Patch






This weekend two of our closest friends, Chris & Theresa came to visit, along with their 3 month old son, Aidan. We had such a great time! We took the boys to the pumpkin patch and got a lot of cute pictures (check out our kodak gallery for all of the pics). As you can see from the picture, Bailey was more interested in licking the pumpkins than anything else. It was great to see them and to meet their little boy. They had only gotten to see Bailey one time before, so we had fun playing with the babies. Bailey was very interested in Aidan, grabbing for him, talking to him, etc. Aidan, being a few months younger, was not as interested in Bailey. He did enjoy watching him though.

A few weeks ago I wrote that Bailey had learned to roll over onto his tummy. Well, now he can roll over from his tummy to his back. He won't do it every time, but he can when he wants to. Also, we have set up his exersaucer and he really loves it. We have also set up his high chair which he really likes. He has slowly begun to tolerate some baby food. His favorite is bananas.

I will write more next weeks with pictures of Bailey in his Halloween costume!

Monday, October 09, 2006

Bailey's Baptism



On Sunday, Bailey was baptized. He looked so cute in his shirt and tie (his Great Aunt Donna gave him the tie). It was a very special event, and many of our family members were able to come.

On Wednesday Bailey will be 5 months old. It is so hard to believe! As you can see from the picture, he is trying to sit up. However, it is more like propping up, I guess. He is so cute!

Ok, I have to tell a funny story (sorry, Mom). On Friday night, my mother babysat Bailey while Jay and I went out for a couple of hours. We came home and my mom tells me that she lathered up Bailey's body with lotion and he really loved it. I was surprised that she knew where I kept his lotion. Well, as it turns out, she didn't. She showed me what she had put on him....it was diaper rash cream! She thought it was just a really thick lotion. It was very funny and Bailey smelled interesting!

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Little Red Raider





Saturday we took Bailey to his first Texas Tech game. We all had a great time. As you know, Jay was in the Goin' Band from Raiderland and Saturday was Alumni Band Day. Some of Jay's college band friends got to see Bailey for the first time. Bailey and I got to march down to the stadium with Jay and the band. Bailey loved all the music! It was a long day for him, but he did wonderfully!

Bailey is doing new things all the time. He can push up while on his tummy and is so proud of himself when he does it. He can also roll over from his back onto his tummy. Almost every time I lay him on his blanket to play, he immediately rolls onto his tummy (then after a few minutes cries because he can't get back to his back).

He had his 4 month appointment last week and his doctor said he is doing great. He is in the 70% for both weight and height (15 lbs and 26 inches). Jay and I are having such a great time with Bailey, he is such a wonderful baby with such a cheerful personality. We are so blessed!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Four Months Old

Another busy week is coming to an end! We have had so much going on lately, I have been bad about posting. Our computer is at the repair shop, so I will not be posting pictures on this blog. I am hoping to hear something tomorrow about our computer and am keeping my fingers crossed that it will not cost a fortune to fix.

Jay is on a "guy trip" this weekend with Jarod and our neighbor. They went down to Corpus to dove hunt and fish. He was excited about going, but sad to leave Bailey. He left today and will be back Sunday, so it's the longest he has been away since Bailey was born.

Bailey is doing new things all of the time. He can push up now, and really enjoys being on his tummy surrounded by his toys. He can almost roll over. He is working hard, and only lacks getting one arm out from under him. We have been trying a little baby food the past week (he's not completely ready, so we just give him a few bites every now and then). Not a huge fan of the rice cereal. He acts like he is having convulsions (VERY DRAMATIC). He really likes bananas, but the peaches seem a little tart. Those are the only 3 things we have tried...aside from chocolate, whipped cream (thank you, Jim Newton) and popsicles (Jay gets credit for that), of course. Next week Bailey goes for his 4 month shots. I am hoping it is less tragic than last time. I am not sure either of us could go through that again!

Oh, for any of you reading Dallas' blog, she has the link to baby Max. I have included that link too. Please go to it if you have never read it before. Scroll down to the bottom and read from the begining. He is making little improvements each day and could certainly use continued prayers! http://julian-family.blogspot.com/

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Our First Family Vacation



Okay, I know it has been a long time since I have updated our blog. Our computer is sick with a virus and we haven't taken it in yet (I am using Jay's work computer and will have to upload pictures later).

I am sitting at the airport in Corpus and for those of you who have never been here, it is awful! There is one magazine stand and one little sandwhich shop. Needless to say, like good passengers we arrived 2 1/2 hours early. What a mistake! But, to the good part of our vacation...

Jay had 3 depositons over the past two days in Corpus, so he brought us along (because he flies so much for work, he had earned a free flight, which I got to use). Bailey was terrific on the flights. It can be very stressful to fly with an infant..my cousin Dallas can sympathize.

Surprisingly, each deposition only lasted 1 hour, so we had a lot of fun family time! Yesterday we went to the hotel pool (we got to stay at a very nice hotel because that was where the depos. were at) and went to lunch at a local place called Waterstreet. After Jay's afternoon depo. we drove our rental car to Port Aransas and took Bailey to the beach. He really liked the water. We only stayed 1 hour because we thought that was enough sun for Bailey (of course, only a small part of that hour was spent in the water. By the time we laid out the towels, put on Bailey's swimsuit and lathered him with sunscreen, etc. it had been 30 minutes. Oh, did I mention he needed to eat as soon as we got all settled :) ). Then we ate at the Crazy Cajun..they dump the food right on the table! cab legs, shrimp. corn and potatoes. It was great! We were all 3 exhausted by the time we got back to corpus, but had a great time. We took some pictures that I will upload at some point.

Since it has been so long since I have updated, I am sure there is more to write, but I can barely remember yesterday (hazard of being a new mom). Have a great Friday!

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Growing Up So Fast


Nine days ago Bailey began sleeping in his room. When I came home from my night out with the girls Jay had made the decision that Bailey would begin sleeping in his room that night. Needless to say, I was not thrilled with this last minute decision...I didn't even have time to prepare myself. However, it went really well, better than I had expected. Of course, the first night, I just laid in bed listening to the monitor, hearing his every movement and wanting to bring him back into our room (where his pack-n-play was anxiously awaiting)...but, I did not. I made it through the entire night. Bailey actually slept until 6:30 am! The longest he had ever made it. Now Bailey sleeps until 6:30 or 7:00 each morning, Jay and I play with him in our bed for 15 minutes. Then, while Jay gets ready for work, Bailey eats and then the two of us go back to sleep for about an hour. It's a nice routine. Of course, now that he is sleeping so much at night it has cut down on his daily naps, occasionally making it harder to get things done during the day, but we are adjusting.

I still can't believe how fast he is growing. It almost feels like the past 3 months are a blur. I am trying to hang on to each second with him. He is holding his head up for longer now. He has also started to enjoy the Baby Einstein videos. He is mezmerized by all of the sounds, movements and colors. Another favorite of his is going on walks. He loves being in his jogging stroller and watching the world go round.

Tomorrow night Bailey is being officially babysat for the first time. By that, I mean the first time someone other than family has kept him. Our friends who live across the street will be keeping him for a few hours and they are very excited (they are our age and have a 7 year old, so we feel very comfortable). They love Bailey and I know they will have a great time.

Monday, August 07, 2006

My Week As a Working Mom


Don't get me wrong, I definitely consider myself a "working" mom, but last week I got paid for it. I filled in at my father-in-law's office Monday-Wednesday and also on Friday. It was nice to bring home a paycheck and have adult conversation during the day. It was also nice to have a change of pace. However, I was VERY ready to be back home with Bailey and I am very blessed and happy that I do not have to work outside of the home.

I have been given the opportunity to bring in some extra money. Our neighbors (and friends) have an 8 year old daughter that needs to be picked up from school each day. I will pick her up at 3 pm and three days a week she will stay with me until 3:30 and the other two days until 5:30. Very easy work for good money. We usually run any errands in the morning, and go to the gym later in the evening so we shouldn't have to adjust our schedule much. I thought it would be a good way to help out our friends and to make some money.

On Saturday I went out with the girls (it was my friend, Brandi's bachelorrette party) while Jay took care of Bailey. I think they had some good male bonding time and I really enjoyed having a "night on the town". I have to admit, it was strange not carrying diapers around with me and being spit-up free the entire evening!

Sorry there is only one picture, I have not been on top of things this past week. As you can see, Bailey is growing like a weed. He will be 3 months on Friday. He weighs 13 lbs, 4 oz and is 24 inches long! Today I packed away the clothes that he has grown out of. It was a little sad. Although, he still has a lot of 0-3 month clothes that are too big. Over the weekend we got Bailey a bumbo seat (all of my friends have them). Even though he can't hold his head up for long periods of time, he loves sitting in his new seat. He always wants to be propped up on your lap or on the couch, so this is right up his alley. Mister curious can see everything! More later, have a wonderful week!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

My Child, The Thumb Sucker






Well, I think it's official; Bailey is a thumb sucker. My father in law told me there is no stopping it (I have been trying to immediately replace his thumb sucking with a pacifier). This morning I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to Bailey ravenously sucking his thumb (of course, he was hungry). He also decided that he had had enough sleep for the night and was ready to play. Therefore, Jay and I were up for the day.

Today, Bailey had an issue with spitting up after each feeding. Not just spitting up immediately after, but up to 2 hours after! And we are talking MAJOR spitting up. At one point my sister, Jill was holding him and he spit up on his bib. She decided to use it to wipe his face and instead, smashed spit-up all over him! Bailey thought it was great! He was smiling like crazy! Of course, he managed to cover her in spit-up too.

Right now he is in his crib and I can hear him talking to his mobile. Luckily, he still loves it. He is getting such a great personality! He loves to smile! He is also using his legs to push off of your lap. Last week he found himself in the mirror. He isn't quite sure what he is looking at but he will lock eyes with his reflection (I am sure he is thinking "who is that handsome devil?").

Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Boy, Can My Child Scream!

Today was tough! Bailey had his first set of shots and it was not fun. He received a total of three. When they gave him the first shot he seemed more surprised than anything. But when the nurse grabbed his other leg to give the second shot he started kicking like crazy...and then came the blood curdling scream! For the third shot it only got worse. By this time his leg muscles were so clenched that he bled quite a bit. Poor baby. During Bailey's shots, I held him and my sister, Jill was patting my back (I think she was more worried about me). I can't believe I have to do this again in two months! His cousin Andrew was so sweet. While Bailey was crying, Andrew was patting his back and his head. Little did Andrew know that his turn was next. I could not bear to stay and watch Andrew get his shots, but was told it was bad. He is old enough to know what's going on. I am happy to report that thanks to Tylenol, both boys are recovering well.

Bailey is ten weeks old today and is changing so quickly! He is insistent about being able to look around and see what's going on in the world. He would barely let me get ready this morning. I had to prop him up on my bed using pillows so he could sit and see me while I got ready. He is holding his head up...when he wants to and is SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT (I consider sleeping until 4:30 or 5:00 am "through the night"). There were times I have wondered if I would ever get more than a total of 5 hours of sleep.

He has also began the adorable habit of licking the wrist or shirt of whomever is holding him. It is very cute, he looks like a little kitty cat. He also knows where his thumb is and how to suck it. Right now I am trying to decide which habit I would rather break....sucking his thumb, or sucking a pacifier. I am leaning towards pacifier, so every time I catch him sucking his thumb (or his hand) I quickly replace it with the pacifier. I can think of a million more cute things to write about, but I will stop for now....

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Take Two






Okay, I am still trying to figure out the picture thing. I uploaded a few on my first posting, and I will add others on this one. It would only allow me to upload 5. Dallas, any ideas to allow me to upload a slideshow with a lot of pictures?

Today Bailey's Grandmommy came to visit and they cuddled and played all afternoon. He is such a happy little boy; even with a cold!

The air conditioner is not working in our house right now and as you can imagine, it is HOT. Poor Bailey has spent most of the day wearing only his diaper because he has been sweating. Hopefully it will be fixed tomorrow and my child will no longer be laying around with only a diaper and a pacifier...classic!

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

I'm New at This...






More and more of our friends are creating blogs. We have been convinced this will be a good way to keep friends and family posted on the "Newton News." I will try to update each week, but for those of you who read Dallas' blog do not expect mine to be nearly as creative!

Bailey is now 2 months old and weighs 11 lbs 13 oz (the 75th percentile) and is 23 3/4 inches long (the 80th percentile). His pediatrician assures me there is no need to begin dieting.

Bailey is growing so fast and we are loving every second! He has a favorite toy...his new mobile (Dallas, thanks for the recommendation). He can stare at if FOREVER. I will sit in his room and listen to him talking to it and giggling. It is very cute! Mornings are his favorite times...he is all smiles. It is Bailey and Mommy's special time together each day.

We hope you enjoyed reading our first entry and will continue to send pictures through the Kodak Gallery. Until next time...